Ryan Ladika/MDN Cheyenne Lang made official her plans to join the volleyball program at Bismarck State College.

After recording her 1000th kill in the final game of her high school career, Cheyenne Lang has no plans to stop.

The Our Redeemer’s Christian School senior recently made official her plans to continue her volleyball career at the collegiate level, signing her National Letter of Intent to join the Bismarck State College Mystics in the fall.

While still quite thrilled to continue playing volleyball, Lang noted that the medical studies offered by Bismarck State were the ultimate factor in her decision to take her on-court talents down U.S. Highway 83.

“I am planning on being a dental hygienist,” she said. “So that was my main reason for going, but I knew I wanted to play volleyball again. When I was offered a scholarship, I knew it was the right option for me.”

The Mystics sold Lang on their smaller class sizes and the opportunity to receive the degree of personalized assistance with her studies that she would likely struggle finding at a larger university.

The current Knights senior recalls knowing at a young age what she wanted to pursue following the conclusion of her high school tenure. She soon found what she was looking for in the capital city after eyeing Bismarck State for close to two years.

“I wanted to be an orthodontist, but that’s a lot of school,” Lang admitted. “When I got my braces done a long time ago, I was like, ‘this is so fascinating, I want to go into something with teeth and making people happy when they smile and not wanting to hide anything.’ I was just really fascinated with people having nice, bright smiles and I wanted to make other people happy with their smiles too.”

The prospective ability to easily visit members of her family who reside in Bismarck was a bonus for Lang and helped tip the scales the way of the Mystics over Minot State University.

In choosing her college program, the team’s win/loss column took a back seat in favor of her studies, but Bismarck State is no slouch on the court.

Lang will join a Mystics squad that won 25 of its 29 games during the fall 2021 campaign, including an impressive 16-match win streak that was snapped with an Oct. 27 loss to Miles Community College in the National Junior College Athletic Association’s Division II Northwest Plains District Tournament.

“I think that Cheyenne is a versatile athlete who’s really hardworking, and I think she can add a lot in terms of the teammate aspect,” Knights head coach Kara Nunziato said. “She’s got a quick arm swing, she’s solid defensively, so I think she can be used in a variety of ways within their program.”

Lang will bring to Bismarck a high school resume that features 1,006 kills, 1,137 digs, 193 aces, 78 assists and 33 blocks.

The culture that Mystics head coach Kyle Kuether has built within the program was also a major selling point for the outside hitter, who was looking for a team she would mesh well with and thoroughly enjoy being a part of.

Lang will fondly look back on her time with Our Redeemer’s, even to her days as a middle schooler aspiring to become the next Karlee Zablotney, Ryleigh Popinga and Karolynn Winger. A tireless work ethic landed her a spot on the varsity squad as an eighth-grader, and later carried her through her rehabilitation of a torn left ACL that sidelined her throughout her junior season.

“My coaches helped me through it,” she continued. “I’ve always been really fortunate with my teammates, they’ve always been super, super awesome. It wasn’t hard to come to practice and want to work hard with them, everyone was so awesome throughout the years. I was really fortunate.”

Just when she thought Bismarck State had given her all she could possibly want, Kuether also personally reached out to Lang and offered her the No. 5 jersey with the Mystics that Lang donned throughout her Our Redeemer’s career. She was ecstatic.

“Kyle ended up texting me and he said, ‘Hey, I was wondering if you wanted to keep your No. 5,'” Lang recalled. “And I texted, ‘Oh my goodness, yes please’ with a bunch of exclamation points. That made me so excited.”